The Nicene Revolution: Theological Change in the Fourth Century

The fifty years between the Council of Nicaea in 325 and the Council of Constantinople in 381 were times of extraordinary theological change leading to understandings of God and Christ both continuous with and sharply different from earlier teaching, a true revolution. This course explores the process of doctrinal change during that period, both in its own right and as a paradigm for doctrinal change in later periods, including the present. Lectures, reading of original sources in translation, group discussion, research essay.